CRESTVIEW — The Crestview Police Department is warning residents about the "can you hear me?" scam, following reports from the Better Business Bureau and major news networks.
"Answering in the affirmative is all a scammer needs to execute the latest 'can you hear me?' scam," the BBB stated in a fall 2016 warning. "This scam has historically been directed toward businesses, but your Better Business Bureau is hearing from consumers recently who are reporting the phone scam."
The calls come from scammers posing as representatives of a variety of services and businesses, including cruise lines, home security companies and government agencies including the Social Security Administration.
"If you answer 'yes,' there's a possibility that the scam artist…has recorded you and will use your agreement to sign you up for a product or service and then demand payment," the BBB report stated. "If you refuse, the caller may produce your recorded 'yes' response to confirm your purchase agreement."
The police department and the BBB remind residents that government agencies do not initiate phone calls to residents, including calls demanding payment of past taxes or fees. Unsolicited calls received by residents who are on the National Do Not Call Registry are almost certainly scams.
Sometimes such calls are attempts to verify if a resident's phone number is active and should be ignored, the BBB advises.
•Be sure your home and mobile phone numbers are listed on the Federal Trade Commission's National Do Not Call Registry. Registration is free and easy. Visit www.donotcall.gov. Violations can be reported to the same website.
•If you receive an unsolicited robocall from an organization or business, just hang up. If you are on the National Do Not Call Registry and a company calls to ask questions, it's likely a scam. Avoid responding with "yes," "sure" or "ok."
Anti-scam guidelines
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Police issue scam warning